One Last Chance
by ABSilverstreak
Summary: Alexis remembers the past, and what happened...all she wanted, was a chance to tell Starscream how she felt...Transformers:Armada  Based on the relationship between Starscream and Alexis. Takes place 11 years later. Cont'd in Where Earth and Sky Meet.


Author's Note

For one, I have been on an Armada kick recently, and a certain plotline has caught my attention. For those I am driving crazy with it and Armada in general, thank you for putting up with me and my nuttiness. (grins) You all WIN.

Second, I recommend reading this with the song "Anywhere" by Evanescence playing in the background. It is the inspiration behind this, thanks to WreathofPalmaria, who is a video artist on Youtube. The song, which was put to one of this artist's videos, got stuck in my head and WOULD NOT LEAVE until I wrote this little bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any characters mentioned in this story. I do not own Youtube. I mention Youtube as a way to signify credit for inspiration from one of the vid artists.  
Transformers(c)Hasbro  
"Anywhere" by Evanescence

And now...

"ONE LAST CHANCE"

* * *

_Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me  
And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free..._

_  
_She drifted through a haze, faint words of a song drifting over the warm, heavy air. She stood on a small outcropping, looking out over a familiar metal surface, staring at the expanse of the world before her. Not her world...no, a world she once had the privilege of visiting, so many years ago. It held wonderful memories for her, but many sad ones as well. She tried not to dwell on those so much any more, as they still bore through her heart as if those memories were so very fresh, as if they had been sliced through her just hours before. But most of the time, her memories served to come back anyway, reminding her of what she left behind...

She stood there, her blue-green eyes glittering softly as she looked over the land, a land made of metal and alloys, a strange formation of a planet. The wind blew by her gently, whipping strands of chocolate cherry colored hair across her face, disrupting her view of the landscape. It held a beauty all in it's own...if not for its strange and complex construction, then for the life it managed to instill upon the universe. It was home, though not hers. She reached up, fingers brushing against her cheek, sliding the strand of hair away from her face and lacing it back with the rest of her hair gently.

_I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you  
And at sweet night, you are my own...  
_

Her hand raised to her chest, her long fingers brushing against an eleven year old pendant, the aqua-green stone in the center cracked through, right down the center. To this day, her fingers still traced along that crack, and each time, a sharp stab ran through her, right through her heart, as if someone had run her through with a lance made with pure white hot metal. This was a wound that had never healed. Not in eleven years had she ever forgotten that day. The words that drifted across the air over the communications room when she had been told someone close to her had died had broken her. It had ripped through her, baring her heart for the first time. She reacted in a way she didn't expect and had run out and away from her friends. The thoughts that had crossed her mind then had embarrassed and scared her.

She closed her eyes, shutting them against the tears that now threatened to overtake her yet again, for the millionth time since that day. She took a soft breath in, clearing her mind, a memory coming to her, a memory of the last time she ever saw the one she cared so much about...

* * *

"...You wouldn't betray your friends...would you?"  
The soft voice of a young girl sang out gently across the same metal landscape, the voice laced with sadness and worry. She stood in her space suit as she stood on the planet, completely alien to her, and yet still beautiful. But it wasn't the planet she was worried about. It was the figure before her, who had started walking away. When she spoke, he paused, thinking about her words. 

_...Friends...? I...that's right...they are my friends. But I betrayed them once before...what is to stop me from doing it again? I don't want to...but it is a part of me. But can I change? Can it be that easy? No...not after vorns upon vorns of deceit to survive. But for them...I could try..? Alexis...why? I don't understand...Why do I...why did you trust me so much? Why put so much faith in a failure such as me? ...What do you see in me..? I...I don't know..._

"...I'm...not sure. I'm not sure of anything...anymore..." He said quietly, turning around after those words to look at her. She was so small compared to him, he mused, and wondered how someone so small could hold so much faith and trust in him. It was amazing really, how she seemed to hold so much compassion. She was always happy, strong, and forgiving. Somehow...it gave him strength. And right now, he actually regretted his decision to walk away. It was something he felt needed to be done. The rest of his race depended on it...on him, whether they knew it or not. He watched her for a moment, then spoke gently.

"...You trusted me, Alexis...and for that, I thank you..."

He took one last look at her, not even realizing himself that this would be the last time he would see her. He watched her for just a moment, allowing himself that one moment of temporary peace as he looked at her. Strange, he thought, that he would be put to ease by a mere human girl.

Without another word, he turned around finally, and began walking away, each step uneasingly heavier than the last.

Alexis reached up, gloved fingers curling around the pendant that she had made recently of the stone that he had brought back from Mars. The aqua-green stone was a bit lighter than it seemed, but it was a comforting weight against her chest. She watched the other walk away, wondering what he had been thinking about. She didn't move, just stood there, watching him walk away...and feeling as if he were pulling a part of her with him. It was a feeling she didn't understand, and all she could do was grasp at the pendant and whisper softly.

"..Oh, Starscream..." _...Please...just...come back someday...okay...?_

_Take my hand  
We're leaving here tonight  
There's no need to tell anyone  
They'd only hold us down  
So by the morning light  
We'll be halfway to anywhere  
Where love is more than just your name...

* * *

_

She opened her eyes again slowly, two blue-green pools of deep emotion, and sat down on the metallic outcropping where she stood, a hand going to her face, wiping away gently the tears that had managed to escape. She understood these days now what it was she felt back then. She smiled softly, wondering how in the world something like that could have happened. But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed perfectly fine. She looked down at her necklace, picking up the beautiful green stone and admiring it. Even to this day, even with the crack, it still seemed to glow softly with a certain radiance, almost a life of it's own. But it was that glaring crack down the center that reminded her every day that he was no longer there. She sighed softly, sadly at that and wondered, briefly, what things would have been like had he stayed alive...

The wind blew a little stronger now and she looked up, the wind catching her hair again as she sat there. She smiled a bit again, more memories coming to mind, and more wishes that would never be fulfilled..._  
_  
_I have dreamt of a place for you and I  
No one know who we are there  
All I want is to give my life only to you  
I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore  
Let's run away, I'll take you there _

There was a sound behind her, soft, but a sound she recognized, nonetheless. She didn't turn however, knowing who it was. She had a feeling the Autobot leader was there to comfort her, as she had confided in him once. It had been only three years after incident, when she lost him, and feelings had become overrun, and confusing to her. She thought she had been over his death, but it turned out that something had triggered her memories, and she remembered everything, and understood everything then. Her thoughts, her feelings, and it tore the wound she had tried to close open again, and even more so. Since then, it had remained wide open. The leader had listened to her, and then gave her advice, more understanding than she had thought. She smiled softly, and waited for him to speak.

_We're leaving here tonight  
There's no need to tell anyone  
They'd only hold us down  
So by the morning light  
We'll be halfway to anywhere  
Where no one needs a reason..._

"...Alexis..."

That wasn't Optimus Prime's voice. Her eyes opened wide, slowly, wider than ever, her face conveying shock. She stood and turned around, faced with someone she never expected. Her eyes watered, and her face seemed to melt into a mixture of emotions.

"...Starscream..."

Her face mixed more with emotions...sadness, shock, relief, happiness. She took a step forward weakly, then another, watching him, never taking her eyes off of him. She watched as he knelt down to her, his hand out to her. A tear fell down her cheek as he did that, then another, and soon she was really crying as she took the last few steps to him, reaching out and grasping at his hand, falling to her knees, her fingers scraping against the battle-scarred armor of his hand as she curled them into her palms, her body shaking from the tears. She pressed her cheek against his hand, her eyes shut, but unable to stop the flow of tears. She was so overcome with emotion, with so many chances that she had thought she had lost, now given back to her in an instant. She didn't know what to do with this...all she could do was cry, grasping at his hand.

He stared down at her, a soft smile on his face. He had no idea how he was here, but he was...and right now, that was all that mattered. He waited a few, keeping his hand still as she cried against him, the sounds of her voice racked with tears made him sad, and yet happy, because he realized just how much she had missed him. He leaned down slightly, down towards her.

"Alexis...?"

When she finally looked up, her face was a beautiful shade of pink, and wet with her tears, but it wasn't in a bad way. Her smile was enough to tell him everything. He let his hand rest on the ground gently and she crawled into it, her hands grasping at his fingers for support. He slowly raised her up to his shoulder and let her crawl on, noting how she was still shaking. She curled up against the armor plating of the inside of the intake on that shoulder, her hands grasping lightly, trying to keep ahold of him, to never let go. After a few moments she turned her head to look at him, smiling softly, her large blue-green eyes, turned liquid and bright with happiness now._  
_

"...Starscream...how...?"

He shook his head slowly, then returned to looking at her, his silver optics glinting softly in the light from the distant areas of Cybertron. His soft smile was enough to tell her to just not say anything...that to be there, right there, in this moment, was all they needed.

_Forget this life  
Come with me  
Don't look back you're safe now  
Unlock your heart  
Drop your guard  
No one's left to stop you..._

It was a while before either of them would speak again, with Alexis just curled against the wall of his intake. After a time, she actually stood and moved, stepping over the edge of the intake and sitting down right next to his face and, after a slight nervous moment, she leaned against him, raising a hand to place it softly against his cheek. His expression softened more, and he tilted his head towards her gently. He raised his own hand, fingers curling around her gently, protectively. A fresh set of tears brimmed her eyes as he touched her gently, and she relaxed against him even more, closing her eyes again. It was a while longer after that, that either of them would say anything at all.

_Forget this life  
Come with me  
Don't look back you're safe now  
Unlock your heart  
Drop your guard  
No one's left to stop you now  
_

"...I love you..."

There was another long silence between the two of them after that...and then, finally...

"...I love you, too..."

Those three words, whispered and returned so softly, held so much for the other, and placed so many questions to rest at last for both of them, and yet, raised but one.

Would it work?

But right now, it didn't matter. What mattered most right now, was that they were here...

* * *

Alexis gripped the sheets of her bed, sitting up, one hand going to her face. At first silent, a small tear slid down her cheek from under her hand, glinting in a faint, pale green glow from her nightstand that went unnoticed. Her body began shaking, and she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs, burying her face against her knees. She cried out, her voice cracked and choked, swearing her heart was breaking all over again, worse than before... 

On her nightstand, her necklace sat glowing faintly.

...The crack was now gone...

* * *

A/N - This was more of a little drabble that had to be written like NOW... but it has potential to be more. I may or may not, depending on reactions... 

I will work more on my other story soon, don't worry. (nods)


End file.
